Add These Colorful Native Annuals to Your Yard for Instant Color All the Way Through Fall

When you think of native plants , you probably think of perennials—things like coneflowers, bee balm, and brown-eyed Susans. But there are plenty of native plants that are shorter-lived—like biennials or annuals—that can add beauty to your garden and help wildlife in your area thrive.

And there are benefits to adding annuals to your garden—they let you introduce something fresh and new to your landscape, and often have longer bloom times than perennials, so they can brighten your garden during in-between times when your perennial plants are dormant. And native annuals tend to thrive even with some neglect, so they're great for lazy gardeners.

Pro tip: Some of these recommended plants will self-seed if the flowers are left on the plant after they fade—so they may come back year after ye